Greg combines his passions for nature, travel and photography to create wildlife images from around the world.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

The Need for High-End Compact Cameras...

In this blog I have added a few images from my favourite places to photograph wildlife. South Africa, Kenya, Northern Canada, Southern France and Alaska.

As a wildlife
photographer I do a fair amount of traveling to different areas of the
world. I travel with high-end DSLR’s and big zoom and prime lenses. Add in a
subject and I am astounded by their ability to create sharp images of animals
moving at a distance in low light.

What has been bothering me the past few years is not
all of the images that I am taking, rather, all of the wonderful images I am
missing. As fantastic as DSLR’s and big lenses are, they are cumbersome and
attract attention. The majority of my time traveling is spent with this
equipment packed away in discreet cases that look like suitcases. I do this so
I don’t draw any attention to those who may be interested in relieving me of my
gear and or any money I have on me at the time. Once I get to my destination in
the bush or the jungle away from people the gear comes out and the magic
begins.

Each time I travel, I normally have a point and shoot
camera or I use my Iphone to photograph or record interesting images along the
way. The problem is there is a huge quality gap between what my DSLR produces
in images and what my Iphone or point and shoot camera produces. When I heard about Lightco's #Vantagepoint I got excited about their approach. A compact camera the size of my point and shoot that creates images that are of similar quality of my DSLR's. A high-quality camera that records videos in 4K and
has 16 lenses firing simultaneously to acquire those high-end images. In-camera
editing that I can edit on the plane looks great too!

With a camera like an L-16 Light camera I will be able
to stop over at the Eiffel Tower while in Paris in the evening to take
low-light images of the Eiffel tower lit up without carrying around expensive
looking bulky camera gear. Walking around Paris at night with expensive DSLR’s
then getting on the subway just screams “mug me”. While in India and visiting
the Taj Mahal, a camera like the L16 Light camera again gives me the quality of
my DSLR’s without attracting the attention of any poor locals who will drape
themselves over me in hopes that I will pay them to be my guide or carry my
gear etc. A high-end camera that fits in my pocket will allow me the freedom to
get all the images before and after the safari that I am looking for. This while
keeping a low profile and without adding significant weight to my carry-on bag.
This camera could fill the gap that I am looking for. I can't wait to try it
out.

Below are images from when a small group of us were
invited into our guide’s home in India. His daughter cooked a very special meal
for us with a propane heater on the floor of their kitchen/bedroom. (Kitchen
during the day and bedroom at night).

Below that are images of us being invited
into a hut in a Masai village. The inside of the hut is quite dark. It has a
small fire pit in the middle for those cold nights with two sleeping areas. One
for the kids and one for the mother. The walls of the hut are made of mud and
cow manure And below that are my favourite images from when a group of Masai
dancers stopped by in the evening and entertained us at my favourite camp in Kenya.

Each of those images required a discreet camera that worked well in low light without flash. As you can see, the only place I have recorded those images are in my memory because I didn’t have a discreet camera that would record DSLR quality images in low light. I am hoping that Lightco’s L-16 fill this void.